Chapter 166 - Spirit of Cooperation

“The scriptures describe three ways to become an Exalted.” A soft, illusory voice spoke into Zwei’s ears. “First, a catalyst can be made from spiritually charged ingredients. This concoction is then consumed. Second, a God can forcefully dismantle and reconstruct the dimensional bodies of a person, ascending them through their Divine Will. Third, a person can absorb the sarira of a deceased Exalted.”

“Ascending to the Exalted realm is a test of a person’s willpower and inner strength. A catalyst contains components which act to ease the stress on a person’s soul and support them in the ascension. In addition, the well researched and popular catalysts have supporting techniques to help with the digestion. This is the simplest way to ascend. Given the right training and circumstances, the success rate of this method can be as high as ninety percent.”

“The second method is only spoken about in legends. Perhaps in eras past, when the Gods mingled with mortals, this method was more common. But to receive such attention from a God is unheard of in today’s world. This method depends on the strength and skill of the God and the compatibility of the receiver.”

“The final method is the most risky.” The voice said, “The regular human being must rely purely on their inner strength to battle the remnant will inside the sarira. Success with this method is practically unheard of. There are many fairy tales throughout the world of people coming across sarira, not understanding what they were, and being corrupted into monsters.”

“Therefore, the fact that you have managed to come out of that memory alive and sane is a miracle in itself.”

In the darkness of his mind, the illusory voice pulled Zwei back from the void in his mind left behind from his battle with Locke. He felt that the darkness was a part of him, churning inside his skin and soaking into his muscles and organs. He felt brittle, like his body was made of glass, like a single disturbance would break him and cause all the darkness inside him to spill out in a terrible mess.

Even without being told, Zwei knew that the nature of his existence had changed. He was now an Exalted.

Ever so slowly he recovered.

Zwei opened his eyes and found himself in the dark pit below the house on Eckert Way. Even though there was no light in the pit, he could see clearly. No, it was more like he was part of the shadows. Rather than “seeing”, he could “feel” the darkness.

“Locke was a powerful Exalted.” The voice spoke into Zwei’s mind, “Though he had perished, his latent will still had the desire to survive. You barely survived against Locke with the sarira that you’d already absorbed. Imagine if Finn hadn’t stopped him from absorbing the rest.”

“You’re right.” Zwei said softly, “And you’re wrong.”

He looked across the room at Locke’s rotting corpse with a solemn look. He walked over to the body and knelt down, bowing his head respectfully.

“Locke sacrificed himself for us.”

“What do you mean?” The illusory voice asked with a mix of surprise and curiousity.

“Locke was dying.” Zwei said, “He had been infected by Markus Gantt and was losing the battle. He had the infection contained, but it was only a matter of time.”

“When he met Finn and I, he used his powers to infect us, but with that infection he also imparted his memories.” Zwei continued, “He ordered us to come back here, then killed himself in this pit, leaving his body for us to find. The sarira was his inheritance to us. His final gift.”

“I know what you’re going to say. This wasn’t a gift. He really did try to corrupt me and take over.” Zwei chuckled softly as a morbid thought entered his mind. He shook his head, “But that was just instinct. The lingering willpower of his spirit, beyond his control. He had every faith that Finn and I would overcome this challenge and receive his inheritance.”

Zwei reached forward, pulling back Locke’s mottled trench coat. He reached inside and pulled out a silver dagger. The blade was curved in a crescent and engraved with delicate runes. It was the same dagger which Locke had plunged into the neck of the wild man in the memory on the island.

Six years ago, Locke had been a double agent. He had been the one to trick Gantt, luring Gantt to the island on the pretence of catching the Xing family as they escaped from Noga. His assignment was to arrive with the Nature-aspected Exalted and kill everyone in the manor while Gantt took care of the parents. At the last moment Locke had betrayed Gantt and killed his “partner”.

Without Locke’s help, none of them would have survived.

“Thank you.” Zwei muttered to the deceased Exalted. He bowed once more before tucking the dagger away.

Not only had Locke risked his life to save Zwei’s family on that day six years ago, but now he had even passed on his memories. A blazing purpose lit within Zwei’s soul as he realized what he needed to do.

The sound of footsteps descending the stairs interrupted Zwei’s thoughts. He looked up, sensing the approach of a number of officers.

“Be careful.” The voice said to him, “I don’t think they’re friendly.”

A milky darkness churned within Zwei’s pupils as he nodded, “Don’t worry, I can handle this.”

~

A few moments later Finn descended into the pit, accompanied by Chief Vox and two senior officers. The harsh orange light of lanterns filled the gravely pit, illuminating the space. The corpse of Locke lay against the wall where Finn had left it, but Zwei was nowhere to be seen.

“There’s no one here.” Vox said, adjusting his spectacles, “I thought you said you left your partner with the body.”

“I did.” Finn said, showing his concern, “He must have left.”

The last Finn had seen of Zwei, the latter had been unconscious on the floor being consumed by a shadowy corruption. Finn had expected to arrive to find Zwei in the same condition, or even dead, and was prepared to blame it on some unknown property of the corpse.

He was not prepared to find that Zwei was completely missing.

“What’s special about this body?” Vox asked harshly.

“That is confidential. I am only here at your insistence.” Finn said, leaning into his role as a special investigator. “You may inspect it and come to the conclusions as you wish.”

“It would be better for you to cooperate.” Vox muttered, but didn’t press Finn further. He gestured to the officers, “Inspect the body.”

The officers approached Locke’s body carefully, examining the surrounding area before focusing on the corpse.

“The body is disturbed.” Vox said with a frown, “Was that your doing?”

“Of course.” Finn said, “It is part of my investigation, after all.”

“Who is your commanding officer?” Vox asked.

“You already asked, and I have no obligation to tell you.” Finn replied. “Submit an official request to administration if you really need to know.”

“Officer Mackenzie, allow me to offer a word of advice to you. Just because your connections advanced your career doesn’t make you special.” Vox’s lips tensed in frustration as he spoke quietly so as not to disturb the investigators.

Though their eyes were on the officers who were examining the corpse, the tension between Finn and Chief Vox couldn’t be thicker.

“Oh, yes. I know you. You’re Chief Yun’s protege. He paraded you around the station half a year ago. You were trying to join Enzo’s team, right? Funny. Last I saw you were pushing papers for Luan.” Vox smirked, “Yet here you are, acting high and mighty with a Special Inspector badge, talking back to a Police Chief.”

Finn kept his expression neutral as he didn’t respond, letting the older chief speak his mind without interruption. This lack of reaction seemingly displeased the chief, who cleared his throat and leaned in closer.

“You may hold a fancy official position, Mackenzie, but you’ll soon learn that it’s in your best interest to cooperate with others, irregardless of procedure.” Chief Vox said.

“Noted.” Finn smiled, completely unaffected by Vox’s words. “I look forward to cooperating with you when the situation calls for it.”

Although the Chief was doing his best to get under Finn’s skin, Finn had far more important things to worry about than upsetting Vox. After all, he didn’t even know whether Vox could be trusted. The question of how Vox found out about this meeting location rubbed Finn the wrong way.

He knew that Chief Fang and Locke wouldn’t have leaked the information. From what he knew of Zwei’s behaviour and personality Finn also highly doubted that Zwei had given this information away.

As he contemplated this, one name appeared in his mind. Minnie Kim, the officer that was on Chief Bear’s special investigation team, which he had saved the previous night from Ming Ru. Zwei had confirmed that Chief Bear was a mole in the police force. Minnie could have leaked his involvement in the case to Chief Bear after he’d saved her. No, even if she hadn’t said anything, Finn’s involvement likely roused Bear’s suspicions.

But… how could they have tailed him to the house? He hadn’t arrived in the area through normal means.

“In the spirit of cooperation, let me ask you a question.” Finn said, “How did you find this place?”

“In the spirit of cooperation, you should answer the question first.” Vox said. Seeing that Finn had no intent to answer he chuckled, “No? Didn’t think so.”

“It was Locke.” A male voice said clearly to Finn.

Finn’s eyes shot to the corner of the pit, where he saw Zwei leaning casually against the wall. The young officer was still dressed in his casual clothes from the night before - a pair of loose slacks and a long sleeved white shirt. His black hair was unkempt, his long bangs hung over his eyes.

Zwei glanced casually to the other officers in the room, who hadn’t noticed his presence at all.

“Locke was compromised by Markus Gantt.” Zwei said, “They discovered this place just before he died and have likely been watching it for activity.”

For whatever reason, Finn was the only one who could see Zwei. Even Chief Vox showed no reaction, his eyes calmly on the two investigators even as Zwei stood a mere metre away from them.

“The police force can’t be trusted anymore. I’m going back.” Zwei said vaguely, but Finn understood he was referring to returning to Quill and the order. “I can’t help you, but if you can get away from the force, you know how to find me.”

Finn locked eyes with Zwei, nodding subtly to his partner.

Zwei returned the nod, then closed his eyes. A shadow crossed over Zwei’s body as he suddenly disappeared from sight.

Finn stood in silence, keeping his expression neutral as he scanned the room to find any trace of his partner, but there was no sign of him. The only movement was from the officers who were still crouched over the body, and the flickering of light of the lanterns.

Just as Finn was about to relax he felt the pressure of a hand on his shoulder, and a whisper in his ear.

“What Locke was involved in is bigger than any of us. Bigger than Noga. Bigger than Markus Gantt.” Zwei said quietly. “As soon as you can, you need to come find me.”

Then he was gone.